July charter must be implemented under interim government: Nahid Islam

Nahid Islam, Convener of the National Citizens' Party (NCP), has demanded that the July Charter be implemented during the tenure of the interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, which came to power following the July uprising.

Speaking at an emergency press conference on Saturday (August 2) at NCP’s temporary central office in Rupayan Tower, Banglamotor, Dhaka, Nahid stated, “The July Charter must have legal legitimacy. The next election must be held on the basis of the Charter. We will not leave the reform agenda in the hands of elected members of parliament alone. Rather, the next parliament and constituent assembly must be formed based on this Charter.”

Earlier in the day, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam announced via Facebook that the interim government would present the July Declaration to the nation at 5 PM on August 5.

Welcoming this initiative at the press conference, Nahid said, “We have come to know that the interim government, in coordination with all forces and political parties involved in the popular uprising, will present the July Declaration on August 5. We welcome this initiative. However, we also urge that the July Charter be finalized by then. Although consensus has been reached on most parts of the Charter, a few points still remain unresolved.”

He added, “The Consensus Commission has not yet clarified how it plans to address the remaining disagreements. Nor has it outlined the implementation procedure. Therefore, we expect that the modalities of implementation will be finalized and the Charter will be signed accordingly. The Charter must have a legal foundation, and it must guide the next parliamentary election and the formation of the next parliament and constituent assembly. This must happen during the tenure of the current interim government.”

Nahid also announced that the July March—a month-long campaign—will formally conclude tomorrow (Sunday) at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, where the NCP will unveil its manifesto for a "New Bangladesh."

He continued, “On August 3, during the July uprising, we raised a one-point demand from the Shaheed Minar: the fall of the regime and the abolition of the fascist system. While the regime has collapsed, the fascist system remains intact. So our struggle for a new political order and a new Bangladesh must continue. Tomorrow, we will present our vision and roadmap for this New Bangladesh.”

Reflecting on the July March campaign, Nahid said, “To mark the first anniversary of the uprising, we launched the July March on July 1, covering 59 districts. We met with the families of the martyrs, injured protesters, student activists, and ordinary citizens. We listened to the people's concerns, hopes for the country, and their expectations from us as a new political party.”

He added, “Based on these experiences, we have crafted our future action plan and a vision for the future of Bangladesh, which we will unveil at the Shaheed Minar through a public gathering at 4 PM. We call on all citizens to participate spontaneously in tomorrow's rally.”

When asked about the contents of the NCP’s manifesto for New Bangladesh, Nahid responded, “We will present our plans regarding youth, the economy, law and order, the police and civil administration. We will reflect on our successes and failures over the past year and outline our party’s agenda moving forward.”

In response to questions about the July Declaration, Nahid explained, “The demand for such a declaration was first raised on December 31 of last year by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. They submitted a draft to the government. Other political parties also submitted their respective drafts. The government is now working to integrate all of them into a single finalized declaration. From our side, we have emphasized that the declaration must receive constitutional recognition. We hope the government will ensure this, and that all political parties will support and commit to this principle.”